March Wish List ’22

It’s well and truly March already and I can’t believe it! 2022 is flying and I’m not ready to be a quarter of the way through the year so soon.

I feel like I said the same last month, but I’m rather excited for March, purely for a new month after how crap the last one was. Don’t get me wrong, February wasn’t as bad as January for being really poorly and skint after Christmas, but with everything that’s happening in the world right now, I think a few of us can agree that February was shite… Especially towards the end.

This being said, we can’t bad mouth the end of February too much and if you’re a Pokemon fan, you’ll know exactly why! We had the Pokemon Presents for the 26th Anniversary and DAMN the ending was amazing and something some of us didn’t see coming. The announcement of Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet, generation nine in the franchise was announced, with some sneak peaks of the game as well as the three new starters. The generation nine games will launch later this year, which I’m so excited for! I’ll definitely be booking some time off work to play it like what I did for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield as well as Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Anyhoo, let’s get on with this wish list! I’ve really struggled with it this month as at the start of 2022 I said to myself I’d be better with money and so far, it’s going pretty well, which I’m really proud of! I’ve got to a point however where I go to buy things and instead sit and think, “Do I REALLY need this?” and “What could that items cost get me instead/be used towards?” which has really helped. I recommend it for anyone who is trying to save monies. 🙂

• Pokemon Center Eevee Greatest Hits T-Shirt – (link)

Since the UK Pokemon Center opened online, I’ve kept my eyes peeled every other day for what new items they may add to the website (I have grails I’m hoping to get eventually!), and a few weeks ago I noticed this Eevee t-shirt landed on the website. I love the Eevee design, it’s so adorable and the “Quick Attack” text above it just reminds me of whenever I play with Eevee in my team. This isn’t exactly cheap at almost £25, but it’s definitely cute and official Pokemon gear is always great as well. I don’t know if I’ll pick this up anytime soon, but I would love to snag it eventually.

• Ocean In Space/Ocean Club Patreon Club Spirited Away Print – (link)

This is a print I’ve already ordered technically, as I signed up for the Patreon at the end of February. Ocean In Space‘s designs are so beautiful and really are works of art and I adore them all. However, when they announced they would be doing a Spirited Away design with Chihiro, I knew I had to get it! I waited until February payday and made sure to back their Patreon and snag it as soon as I could. I’m honestly so excited for this to arrive already! I already own the Nana print from Patreon at some point last year (which I also wrote about and you can read here) which I adore, I just need to get a frame big enough for it. 😛 I semi regret not backing for the washi tape and stickers now, but meh… I wanted to save money and just get things I’d make use of. I think I’ll look at having this print up in my office by my desk, the same as my plans for the Nana one too.

• Sol de Janeiro Bum Bum Jet Set and Sol de Janeiro Coco Cabana Jet Set – (link) and (link)

If there is one thing I’ve really missed having in my shower the past fortnight, it’s a yummy scented shower gel. My bottle of Snow Fairy finally ran out at the end of February and I’ve been after something nice to replace it since. I thought about getting something else from Lush but their shower gels are shockingly priced for what they are, plus, I didn’t like the look of anything. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Sol de Janeiro and their bum bum cream (especially its scent!), so I thought I’d have a look to see if they do shower gel, which they do! 😀 The scent of this sounds divine, as it’s described as being caramel-pistachio. HOLY SHIT GET IN MY SHOWER! I was too busy trying to be good that I missed out over last weekend when offers were flowing. However, as Mother’s Day is coming up and I know my mom wants to try Sol de Janeiro, I decided to grab a couple of the jet set gift bags for us, one each of the Bum Bum and Coco Cabana, making each set less than £20 with the discount codes I had. I’m so excited for these to arrive and I really hope me and my mom love our goodies. I’ve really been meaning to keep on top of my beauty regime now, my body has been struggling and felt really tight and dry. I’ve been slathering body cream on more than ever this week and my body is already appreciating it. 🙂

I’m going to pop my Look Fantastic referral code here. You’ll get £10 off your order if you use the code, but bear in mind you must spend a minimum of £30. Click the link and the discount will auto apply at checkout. 🙂

• Disney Store Turning Red Mei Plush – (link)

My friend Sacha on Instagram brought my attention to the fact the Disney Store had released Turning Red merchandise, as well as a HUGE Mei plush! I’ve been so excited for Turning Red coming out, that I vowed to buy one or two pieces of merch when it launched in shops. This plush is large and is something I knew I had to add to my collection. My only worry at the time was, “Where is it going to go?!” I’ve had it a few days now (at the time of writing this post I’d just ordered it…) at the point of this post going live and I adore it. I’ve also found it a home, my office chair. When I’m working on stuff at my desk (work and personal), as well a playing games I can have a snuggle of it to relax me. So far, it’s really helped my anxiety and kept me calm. Ironic really considering what Turning Red is all about, eh? 😛

So there we have it, my wish list for March. I know it’s a little bare this month, but I really am trying to be better with my monies. Some of the items in this post have been ordered/arrived but this makes a nice change, as usually I add stuff to my wish lists and either wait months to purchase and sometimes don’t buy at all!

What do you guys have on your wish lists this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time guys, take care and have an amazing weekend!

Ocean In Space Nana Patreon Exclusive Print – Review

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m so excited for a bank holiday this weekend! I have a fun day planned with one of my best friends over the bank holiday and I’m so READY for it! I’ve officially broken up for the long weekend now and wanted to spend the start of it writing about a brand I purchased a Nana item from recently. Those who know me, or have been around my blog or social media a long time (Twitter/Instagram) will know how much I LOVE Nana.

Ocean In Space is an independent artist/store I’ve known about for quite a while now but she especially came to my attention at the start of July when people were sharing a post on Instagram, which was a Nana print she’d designed. I was in awe of it and KNEW I had to buy! I’ve always wanted a Nana print to pop in a frame and hang in the bedroom/office, but I’ve never managed to find one I liked and was able to ship to the UK… Until now. 😛

I got it through Ocean In Space’s Patreon as it was an exclusive for backers for the month of July. I backed as soon as I could and towards the end of July my print arrived. Since then I’ve been DYING to share it with you guys.

I don’t know what it is… But I feel like through COVID a lot more people have discovered and fallen in love with Nana! I’ve seen it spoken about and plenty of fan art and fan made merchandise being shared and brought out on Instagram. I’m not complaining on bit. Nana was one of the first anime and manga series I watched and read and I’m still heartbroken neither of them are completed.

Get yourselves a hot drink (or an Asahi beer like Nana Osaki :P) now because this post is going to be a good and long one, especially for Nana fans. 😛

Nana is a manga series that ran between 2000-2009 before it went on an indefinite hiatus and is by Ai Yazawa. Yazawa both wrote and illustrated the manga series of Nana, I’m unsure about the anime. The reason for the hiatus is said to be due to Yazawa suffering health problems.

Nana is about two women of the same name (Nana, obviously) who meet whilst stuck on a train that is heading to Tokyo. Nana Komatsu is moving to Tokyo to be with her boyfriend and friends, whereas Nana Osaki is moving to Tokyo to kick start her career as a singer in a punk rock band. The two Nana’s lose each other after departing the train, but are joined together again when they both view the same apartment. As the apartment is meant for more than one person to live in, they decided to share it together and become roommates.

The series goes on to show how their friendship blossoms, as well as their relationships and how they impact each others lives. It’s an amazing series and I recommend it to everyone I talk to about manga and anime. Be warned though, it has heavy adult themes, some which have been discussed in a lot more detail lately. I won’t go into them too much, you can soon Google.

Now I’ve spoken about what Nana is about, I want to talk about Ocean In Space and the beautiful print.

Below is taken from Ocean In Space’s website:

Ocean In Space began in 2015 after I decided to make a t-shirt for myself. After an overwhelming amount of positive feedback online, I decided to start making them for other people as well! Ocean In Space was born from my love for all things bright, colourful, and happy. My #1 goal is to make people feel happy when they see my work. And what’s better when you can wear it!!

As soon as you venture onto Ocean In Space’s website it is incredibly colourful and you even get to see the artist behind the piece(s) you’re buying too, which I really like!

Via Patreon the print cost me £15.50, which included shipping too. I could have paid an extra £4.00 to sign up for the sticker club too, but I have way too many stickers as it is, so I left it… Which I semi regret.

The print came with a special thank you letter, as well as a image of Nana Osaki drawn as a cat (it’s a joke in the series) which I’ll show. It was really lovely to read Ocean In Space’s thoughts about Nana:

I’m super happy NANA won this month because it finally made me bite the bullet and watch the series.

The print itself is stunning and I honestly cannot get enough of how perfect it is. Of course, I’ll be talking about it in more detail. 😛

The print reminds me of the 00’s due to the bright colours and the stickers (they remind me of Lisa Frank too), which I love considering when the manga first came out.

Both Nana’s can be seen in a carefree and fun embrace, almost like a selfie sort of pose in a way. Nana Komatsu is the one with the long red hair, dressed in sweet clothing, whilst Nana Osaki is the one with purple short hair, the punk rocker clothing and of course an Asahi beer in hand! I love all of the details added onto both of the girls, but especially Nana Osaki. She loves Vivienne Westwood and has clothing and jewellery from the fashion designer, including the armour ring (something I’ve always wanted because of Nana).

I have one critique of this print, just one. I would have loved to see Nana Osaki’s lotus flower tattoo on her left arm instead of the tartan armband. This tattoo is (in my opinion anyway) a big part of Nana as it’s actually to symbolise her love of Ren. Nana Osaki argues with Nana Komatsu at some point of how it’s a ren flower, so…

Aside from this, the print is beautiful and I do really love it. You know me guys, I like to be honest here. 🙂

There is even a print of a “rough” sketch of the print as Ocean In Space was working on it, which I think is such a nice touch, especially with stating it was part of the July 2021 Patreon rewards too. You can also watch the process of this print over on Ocean In Space’s Instagram, which I’ll post a link to at the bottom of the post.

Overall I absolutely adore this print and cannot wait to get a frame for it so I can hang it up somewhere in the house. I’m undecided as of yet, but I’m thinking in the office about my desk so I can look at it whenever I need to feel inspired or a pick me up.

As mentioned, I’ll pop the links for Ocean In Space below!

Store

Patreon

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

So there we have it, a review of the Nana print that I bought from Ocean In Space’s Patreon page! What do you guys think of this beautiful print? Are you fans of Nana too and managed to snag one of your own? Will you be checking Nana out after me talking about it? Make sure to let me know in the comments below!

Until next time guys, have a lovely evening, as well as an amazing bank holiday!